UUCSC News and Updates
Weekly on Fridays
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Unitarian Universalist Congregation of South County, RI
All are welcome!
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Reverend Denis Letourneau Paul, Minister
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This Sunday, February 20, 2022 |
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Worship
In person 10:00 am
and Virtual 11:15 am
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“Higher Law”
Rev. Denis Letourneau Paul
February 20, 2022
The Transcendentalist movement in the Unitarianism of the 19th century is often remembered for its romanticism of the Truth — a “higher law” — existing within each human being. Almost two centuries later, we tend to remember Henry David Thoreau living in a cabin, observing nature, and finding himself, but there was so much more to it than that. Black Transcendentalists shared their philosophies of action to help their white counterparts deepen their understanding of our interconnectedness. Together, they became the moral voice of our nation to end enslavement.
Zoom service at 11:15 with virtual coffee hour to follow
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Religious Exploration
In-person
10am-noon
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Two Hours of RE!
We will continue our experiment of holding RE from 10-noon on Sundays. We encourage all who can to attend the service upstairs or on Zoom and to join us in RE for the rest of the time!
We will hold our circle whenever most people can join, most often after the in-person service is finished.
This Sunday we will talk about the UU Principles! Check out the sweet song in the video above.
If you missed our Stuffed Animal and Doll sleepover video (or if you want to watch the new version with the sound fixed) here is the new link
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Lee Cowan, Director of Religious Exploration
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Stewardship packets were given, or mailed, to every active member and friend of UUCSC. If you have not yet received yours please contact Mary Fulton, chair of the Stewardship committee.
If you have your packet, please decide how generous you can be. Please ask yourself if you can maintain your pledge from last year. That would be terrific! Perhaps a review of your finances indicates that you could increase your pledge. Wouldn’t that be wonderful!
Please share whatever your good news is with UUCSC as soon as possible so the Finance committee can prepare a reasonable budget for next year.
Thank you for showing your love!
Mary Fulton
Submitted by Mary Fulton
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Every Sunday, when we gather online or in person, early on in the service we begin by reciting our covenant:
Love is the spirit of this congregation, and service is its prayer. This is our great covenant: To dwell together in peace, to seek the truth in love, and to help one another.
Since we aren’t bound together by a theological doctrine, this promise we make to one another (and the world!) is what holds us together. I don’t think of it as glue forcing two bits together, or as a rope constricting us. I think of our covenant as being kind of like horse hair plaster in old homes. All those little strands, which individually aren’t very robust, form a mesh inside the mixture of sand and Portland plaster to give it strength. The mesh is invisible, but crucial. Elements of the earth come together to form shelter that we can share with a world that needs it.
We take our covenant seriously. To serve. To make peace. To seek truth. And to help.
But, if there’s one thing the last two years has taught all of us, it’s that we need each other, and affect each other in ways that are often invisible but always profound. We’ve also learned that it’s easy to lose track of the needs of others when we can’t gather in person, making it difficult to reinforce those invisible connections. We must be more intentional and more organized if we are going to meet all of the needs of the people we’re in covenant with.
That’s why on Wednesday, March 2 at 7 pm we’ll be gathering all of the “stakeholders” for a new Helping Hands committee, and we need your presence.
If you would like to volunteer to do anything to help, in the form of sending cards, making phone calls, offering rides, preparing or delivering meals, or anything else you can think of, then this meeting is for you. If you already do some of those things in your own quiet way, this meeting is for you. If you’ve benefited from the caring of other UUCSC folks and want to give back, this meeting is for you. If you have an idea for an organizational structure for the committee, this meeting is for you.
The bottom line is that if you take our promise seriously and want to make sure we are all living into it, this meeting is for you.
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This is how you can continue to build the community we want to be part of, as you have always done, responding to the challenges of our times.
In Peace,
Rev Denis
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Giving and Receiving Love! |
We had so many offers of love during both services last Sunday! This picture is the bulletin board of offerings during our in-person service. And we have a similar amount from our online service!
And we still have many offerings that have not been claimed!
So if you're in need of some love, even if you didn't make it to our Sunday services, please email Lee at uucscdre2@gmail.com
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We still have available offers of homemade food, rides, walks, phone calls, stand-up comedy jokes, gardening help, borrowing tools and more! |
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February Black History Month |
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Hats off to Rhode Island Monthly magazine for publishing this list of Black owned businesses in RI. UUCSC friend, Russell Stokes advises that supporting these hardworking people "helps build generational wisdom, educates the community, builds wealth and can hopefully keep families intact."
If you know of other businesses owned and operated by Black, brown, or Indigenous people, especially in South County, please email them to Etta zasloff.etta@gmail.com for compilation into a directory, accessible from the UUCSC website. And... if you visit one of the businesses on the list, send Etta your comments/reviews for sharing across all platforms - newsletter, facebook, and website. Live our 8th Principle...
Patronize these businesses, not only in February, but all year long!
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Junauda Petrus Reads Her Poem:
Give The Police Departments to the Grandmothers
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Adult Education and Experience |
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Rev Denis will NEVER send you a message asking for money. Such messages are phishing messages. They do not mean that anyone has been hacked. Ignore, delete, and carry on. See this Tech Tip, Understanding Phishing, for more information, especially if you have ever received such a message from a fake Rev Denis.
Another check, he always signs emails the same way:
In Peace,
Rev Denis
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Discover a Treasure
Helene Gersuny would like to find a happy home for her cornucopia of printed music accumulated over many years. Available for the taking are classical, folk, golden oldies, show tunes and educational material.
Call Helene at /401-789-0996 to find a time to discover
some things you have always wanted.
Submitted by Helene Gersuny
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On Wednesday March 2, 2022 at 7pm, there will be an open zoom meeting for any and all Members and Friends of UUCSC who wish to weigh in on the creation of Helping Hands.
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Auction Chairperson Needed: The Board of Directors is hoping to have an auction in April that will incorporate Dining for Dollars and we are looking for a person to chair this event. Please contact Elizabeth Donovan at elizdn342@gmail.com
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There are some plots available at the South Kingstown Community Garden on Broad Rock Road. For more information contact skcommunitygarden@gmail.com or
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Your search for truth and meaning begins here.
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How to Submit Info to This Newsletter |
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Send announcements and news with Newsletter Item in the subject line to Etta Zasloff, Editor, at zasloff.etta@gmail.com and Sara Kaplow, Congregational Administrator, at uucscri@yahoo.com by Tuesday Noon
to assure publication by Friday of that week.
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